Painting a Kitchen Backsplash

How to Paint a Kitchen Backsplash

A painted kitchen backsplash allows you to add some different style and your own touch to your kitchen and of course save on expense.

Rather than tiling, or covering with granite, marble or steel, painting allows you create a new look without lots of additional cost, and all it needs is some time and elbow grease.

Painting a kitchen backsplash does not need a lot of equipment at all. Your choice of paint, some masking tape, a selection of brushes and or rollers (a foam roller may allow for a smoother finish) and some sandpaper are all you really need to transform your kitchen backsplash into a work of culinary art. We would also recommend the wearing of eye covers or goggles of some kind, and also the use of gloves to avoid the skin contacting the paint.



Choose your colours and what colours you want to appear where. You will need to think about how your choice of colour will tie in with the existing colours on display in your kitchen, and maybe get a friend to help in the choice if you don’t have a particularly good eye for colour or find it hard to decide. You can also decide if you want to make the backsplash even more artistic by painting in a unique design or adding a mural or a mosaic style. This can be done either using freehand designs, or by making or purchasing stencils. Use rollers to apply your paint for stencils, and use brushes for freehand designs.

Next, buy your paint and other bits of decorating equipment that you need and may not have. You need to be sure that you purchase enough paint, which will probably a little bit more than you expect based on measurements, as it makes things easier if you have paint left over to allow for any finishing and touching up that may be necessary. You will also need to consider the type of paint required. For example, for painting existing tiles, ceramic paint will be needed. The other option is to apply a glossy surface primer to existing tiles (standard primer will not be any good for painting over kitchen tiles), then painted standard wall paint over the primer as necessary. This may be a good technique if a particular choice of colour is not available in the paint that you require to paint the kitchen backsplash.

Sand the surface to be painted smooth with medium grade sandpaper, and wipe the kitchen backsplash surface clean of any dust and filth with a slightly wet cloth afterwards. Follow this up by sanding down the area with fine grade sandpaper, and then once again use a damp cloth to wipe away any debris.

Using a quality roller or paintbrush, it’s time to start painting the kitchen backsplash. The first coat needs to be applied and left for the recommended time as per the manufacturer’s instructions on the paint container. Then once each coat has dried for the required time, the remaining coats need to be applied until wanted number of coats have been applied.

How To Wallpaper A Kitchen Backsplash

To protect your work from the normal day to day rigours of kitchen life, it is advisable to cover the newly painted kitchen backsplash with a polyurethane coat.

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